Author Insight

Discovery

The protagonists have just made a gruesome discovery in a tenant's storage unit.

Book Excerpt

Gruesome Glitter

“The motorcycle?” said Lane in a quizzical
tone. “It’s not dried up oil or something, is it?”

“Nope,” I answered after a short
investigation. “It’s definitely not oil. Although some sort of crud
has leaked from the saddlebags and the trunk.”

“Well, let’s take a look around; see if we
can find the keys.”

We separated. My husband went left; I went
right. A thorough scan of my half of the unit yielded a small
wooden box all but hidden by heaps of squashed cardboard cartons. I
grabbed it from its niche on the floor next to one wall and opened
to find what I anticipated was the desired object.

“Hey—I dangled a key ring from the end of a
finger—here’s a set of keys.”

He sidestepped through piles of belongings
and grabbed the ring.

“Let’s see if they work.” He tried keys
until—with a click—one of them opened the trunk of the dust-covered
cycle. As though it protested revelation of the trunk’s contents,
the lid defied his efforts to raise it. He persisted...then slammed
it shut again, gagged.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” Then the smell
hit me. I gagged. “Jesus, is something dead in there?”

He turned, gray-faced. “Yes,” he managed to
say in a near whisper.

It was my turn to feel the blood drain from
my face. “Then that crud is...? You’re kidding, right?”